Example public picker URL
What Caught My Eye
Edition 52 · Thursday, 15 May 2026 · Mike Litman · Cultural intelligence, every Thursday
Built with
23
Candidates scored
4
Picked
19
Passed
91%
Taste confidence
All · 8 shown
Picked · 4
Passed · 4 shown
Delayed Gratification · Longform
The slow journalism revival no one is talking about
9.4 TASTE Picked
Take · in your voice
Slow journalism is having its moment for the same reason vinyl did -- not nostalgia, but a reaction to abundance. The retention data in this piece is worth reading twice.
Garbage Day · Analysis
Why independent newsletters are winning the attention war
8.7 TASTE Picked
Take · in your voice
The argument here isn't that newsletters beat social. It's that they've figured out a different game entirely. Worth reading alongside the Pew data from March.
The Atlantic · Essay
What makes editorial taste learnable
8.2 TASTE Picked
Take · in your voice
Argues for curation as a trained skill, not an instinct. The counterargument is buried in paragraph 8. Read from there -- that's the actual thesis.
It's Nice That · Profile
The designer who builds tools for how people actually think
7.9 TASTE Picked
Take · in your voice
Longer profile but worth it for the section on constraint as creative fuel. Skippable first third.
TechCrunch · News
AI writing tools see record adoption in Q1
5.1 TASTE Passed
Covered in Edition 47 (12 weeks ago) · Topic overlap with Pick 2
Press Gazette · Industry
The newsletter economy reaches $1B in annual revenue
4.8 TASTE Passed
Topic overlap with Pick 2 · Weaker primary sourcing
Marketing Brew · Analysis
Substack vs Beehiiv: who wins the platform war in 2026
4.2 TASTE Passed
Platform comparison piece · Not this newsletter's editorial register
Creator Economy · Tips
10 ways to grow your newsletter subscriber list in 2026
2.8 TASTE Passed
Growth tactics piece · Low taste fit · Not this newsletter's voice
Coherence report · Edition 52
Dominant topic
Editorial craft (3 of 4 picks)
Recency flag
Newsletter ecosystem · Ed. 47 (12 wk)
Voice alignment
High · contrarian-cite pattern
Source diversity
4 distinct · 0 repeats from last 4 eds
Coherent · Strong taste signal · 4 picks · 1 recency flag reviewed · Ready to ship